


Error #53

by Cataraction



Category: markiplier - Fandom
Genre: Gen, Horror, Psychological Horror
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-10
Updated: 2015-04-10
Packaged: 2018-03-22 03:27:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,718
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3713110
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cataraction/pseuds/Cataraction
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Based around the Error #53 video Mark did a long time ago. This is an OLD fic but lots of people seem to like it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Error #53

It seemed like just another email. Mark was seated in front of his computer desk, sennheiser headphones on as he scrolled through his seemingly never-ending stacks of email. There were the likely suspects; letters of adoration from fans, game suggestions and downloads and of course a few fans merely wanting to get in touch with him. The email he had opened and was scanning through currently seemed to be just another game suggestion. There was a download link provided but no name for the game. The sender had an email address that was made up of a series of seemingly random numbers. The body of the email besides the link was short and a bit unsettling. It merely read, “I’m so sorry”. Although it seemed a bit sketchy, Mark figured he might as well give it a try. He had yet to receive a virus in an email from a fan and figured it was just a creepy game and the sender was trying to give him the creeps as early on as possible. Mark set up his usual recording routine and prepared to make another video.

After rolling through the game fairly quickly, Mark decided it was probably just a joke game meant for a few cheap scares. The obviously scripted ‘glitches’ and jump scares made this clear early on. Something, however, was very wrong with the game. During a few of the jump scares a single frame would pop up quickly. These frames were pictures of real crime scenes and murders. Many were of people completely hacked apart as their blood surrounded them in a pool. It was disturbing to say the least and it brought a very obvious question to mind; who in their right mind would use those gory images in a game clearly made as a cheap joke? Mark shook his head and slipped his headphones off his ears to hang them around his neck. The apartment was silent aside from the sound of Mark’s computer chair squeaking in protest as he leaned back against it. After the brief squeal came another sound. It was far off, elsewhere in his apartment, and was so subtle it made Mark strain his hearing to catch it. He peered out the open door to his room into the hallway that lead to the kitchenette and living room area while remaining seated.  He was absolutely still and silent as he tried to pick up the noise. It danced at the very outskirts of his hearing but he managed to make it out. It was a drawling groan that seemed to be backed up by someone sucking great draughts of air, as if the constant groan had completely worn out their lungs. It repeated and doubled over itself as if attempting to grow in strength before finally fading out. Mark remained poised, ready to catch the noise if it were to return. He remained in this focused state for nearly half an hour before finally moving. His heart was thundering in his chest and his mind rushed with the thoughts of what that may have been. He shook it off as nothing but an auditory illusion and turned back to his computer screen. It was completely black. Mark quickly shook his mouse but there was no response. He checked the computer tower and monitor and both were on. He began pressing keys until finally hitting the ‘Escape’ key. A text box appeared in the center of the screen. It read “Error #53” which was followed by a string of scrambled letters. Mark frantically tried clicking the small ‘X’ in the upper right hand corner of the text box but each time it would re-appear immediately after. It was only after a dozen or so clicks did he realize the letters were slowly unscrambling with each click. With a few more clicks the letters settled into their respective places and made a sentence. The text box now read:

“Error # 53

 **THERE IS NO ESCAPE** ”

All at once his computer and monitors shut off in a flash. They then began to boot themselves back up with the usual soft whir of the internal fan. Mark plucked his headphones off his head, setting them on the desk before walking out of the room.  He wandered through his apartment to try and clear his head. He eventually returned to his room to find his computer was absolutely fine. After running a few scans the final diagnosis was a clean computer. He checked his files and nothing was missing with exception to the nameless game he had downloaded. It was no longer where he saved the file and was nowhere to be found, as if it were deleted. Mark gave a small sigh of relief to the thing being gone. Some things were just too creepy, even for him.

A few days passed and Mark’s mental and physical conditions had deteriorated significantly. He couldn’t sleep at night due to that drawling chant he had heard before now coming back in full rage coming ever closer until it seemed to originate right outside his bedroom door. The sound was like a chorus of demons trying to serenade him to sleep. Even when he managed to fall asleep his dreams were plagued by nightmares of horrific murders; people being chopped to bits, heads being cut off in graphic detail so realistic he could swear he would feel the blood spray on his face. If it wasn’t terrible murders, a face plagued his dreams. Without features and not unlike the face of slender man, it seemed to stare at him all night with an unrelenting and uncanny gaze. Not necessarily meaning him harm, but not friendly either. Finally, Mark decided he needed to start recording videos again. Up until that point he had released some pre-recorded content, as he didn’t want to go near gaming for a while. Now, he was determined to get back in the game in an attempt to distract his mind from the last couple days. He scrolled through his email for a game suggestion that would be less horror oriented; horror games were the last thing he needed. His eyes locked on a single message as soon as he spotted the email. It was the same address as before, that seemingly random string of numbers. He timidly opened the email and read another short message followed by a download link, this time for a game named “Mr. Kitty saves the world”. The message this time read:

“No turning back.”

Mark reluctantly downloaded the game. It seemed innocent enough, but as he had learned from the last game he had played from this sender, he couldn’t trust it. He set up his recording and started the game. Immediately it went horribly wrong. The game was pixilated and a mash of black and purple. The music was disorientating and far too loud. He played through, stumbling with the controls to make his character jump over furniture. The game quickly broke down and the graphics began to glitch and mash together. The music was a jumbled mess of 8-bit screeches until finally it hit a peak and screamed so loud in his ears he ripped off his headphones to try and cease the sound. It was then he realized the sound was not from the headphones but was from all around him. He clutched at his ears and let out a pained scream as he squeezed his eyes shut. The screech so loud it was physically painful and he curled up in his computer chair in agony. Within a few moments the noise stopped completely and all at once. Mark took a few moments still holding his ears, nursing them back to somewhat functionality. He then peered up to his computer screen. It no longer held the game but a face he knew too well; the face that had been part of his most recent nightmares. It had that same neutral gaze as it twitched and shuffled with the purple and black pixels on the screen. A new noise took over where the screech left off. That drawling groan that had haunted him for the last couple nights began again and now seemed to be in the room with him. Utter fear overtook him as the chorus of demons behind him now held some semblance of organization. Instead of just an empty groan, it seemed to be making sense. It was forming words. The breathy voice finally gained full volume and spoke, “Thank you.”

Before he could react there was a crushing pain in his legs that quickly worked it’s way up his body. He wretched and heaved as the force pressed on his stomach, nearly vomiting. As it crushed his chest, he gasped for breath, making a husky cry for help that resembled the breathy moans that surrounded his hearing. Finally, it surrounded his head and his vision was blacked out as this constricting force consumed him. His struggling did nothing and soon, he was fully consumed.

No one would ever know what happened to the Youtube Gamer Markiplier. He was so close to a million subscribers but all of a sudden, he seemed to disappear off the face of the planet. The fans were left in frenzy after the day he disappeared, an email was sent out to every single one of his subscribers. It was from a guy with an email address made up of seemingly random strings of numbers. The email was entitled “There is no saving him” and held two unreleased videos Markiplier had recorded before his untimely disappearance. One video was of Mark playing a glitched out game with a video title of “Error #53”, and the other was a video of Mark playing a pixilated side scrolling game named “Mr. Kitty saves the World.”

Friends and family all tried to check on him in his apartment but could not open the door due to it being both locked and seemingly barricaded from the other side. However, the few who stayed near the door long enough reported hearing this drawling groan from the inside of the apartment. The noise was quiet and hardly a whisper, but if you listen hard and long enough, you can hear the tortured yelp of a man, whimpering out the words

“Help Me.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> This one is like a few years old but people still seem to like idk why ._.


End file.
